''Alex'' is a 1993 Australian-New Zealand
drama film directed by Megan Simpson and starring Lauren Jackson,
Chris Haywood, and Josh Picker. It is based on a popular
young adult novel by
Tessa Duder
Tessa Duder (née Staveley, born 13 November 1940) is a New Zealand author of novels for young people, short stories, plays and non-fiction, and a former swimmer who won a silver medal for her country at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth ...
.
The film was never released theatrically in Australia, but shown in some foreign territories and went straight to video.
[Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p4]
Premise
A young headstrong New Zealand woman's (Lauren Jackson) quest against the setbacks, intense rivalry and personal tragedy to win selection for the
1960 Rome Olympic Games
The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...
in the women's 100m
freestyle
Freestyle may refer to:
Brands
* Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe
* Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile
* Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine
* ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker
* Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...
.
Cast
*
Lauren A Jackson
Lauren may be a given name or surname.The name's meaning may be "laurel tree", "sweet of honor", or "wisdom". It is derived from the French name Laurence, a feminine version of Laurent, which is in turn derived from the Roman surname Laurentius.
...
as Alex Archer
*
Chris Haywood as Mr Jack
*
Josh Picker
Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to:
People A–J
* "Josh", an early pseudonym of S ...
as Andy
*
Cathy Godbold
Catherine Malia Godbold (23 September 1974 – 4 May 2018) was an Australian actress. She was best known for her role as Deborah Hale Regnery on ''The Saddle Club'' and as Meg Bowman in ''Home and Away''. Following the cancellation of '' Newl ...
as Maggie Benton
*
Elizabeth Hawthorne
Elizabeth Hawthorne (born 30 April 1947) is a New Zealand actress who is known for her role as Mrs. Macready in the 2005 film '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' and the Peter Jackson supernatural comedy ''Th ...
as Mrs Benton
*
Bruce Phillips as Mr Archer
* May Lloyd as Mrs Archer
* Patrick Smith as Mr Benton
*
Rima te Wiata as Female Commentator
* Mark Wright as Male Commentator
*
Grant Tilly
Grant Leonard Ridgway Tilly (12 December 1937 – 10 April 2012) was a New Zealand stage, movie and television actor, set designer, teacher and artist.
Life and career
Grant Tilly was educated in Wellington, taking art at Wellington Tech ...
as Mr Upjohn
* Greg Johnson as Male Journo
*
Alison Bruce as Female Journo
References
*''New Zealand Film 1912-1996'' by Helen Martin & Sam Edwards p165 (1997, Oxford University Press, Auckland)
External links
*
''Alex''at
NZ on Screen''Alex''at NZ Videos
''Alex''at
The New Zealand Film Archive
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...
(archived 2015)
Australian drama films
1992 films
New Zealand drama films
Films about the 1960 Summer Olympics
Films about Olympic swimming and diving
1990s English-language films
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